At that moment—
five warships were racing straight ahead across the sea.
On the flagship in the center of the formation, a man wearing an eye mask was lounging lazily on a long deck chair, enjoying the sun.
Standing respectfully before him was a stern-looking middle-aged man. A long Western-style sword hung at his waist, and he wore a Marine coat over his uniform.
Vice Admiral Yarman.
Yarman served directly under Aokiji and was one of the five Vice Admirals assigned to this operation. The other four each commanded one of the remaining warships.
"Admiral Aokiji, once we pass through the sea ahead, we should reach the Great Underwater Prison very soon," Vice Admiral Yarman reported respectfully.
"Hm? We're already that close?" Aokiji lifted his eye mask and responded in his usual lazy tone.
"Yes, Admiral Aokiji. I've already ordered the other four Vice Admirals to maintain full speed. At this rate, we should reach Impel Down before nightfall."
"Not bad."
Aokiji stretched lazily as he sat up. "After all the trouble we went through, this mission is finally about to end. One Admiral and five Vice Admirals… this lineup is practically a Buster Call."
Since Kizaru and Akainu had both lost an arm, most important missions had recently fallen onto his shoulders.
"As the leader of the fish-men, Fisher Tiger caused chaos in the Holy Land back then. The Celestial Dragons have never let that go, and Headquarters has been under a lot of pressure as a result," Yarman said solemnly. "Now that he's finally been captured, this whole affair is at last nearing its conclusion."
"Yeah. Which means I can finally take a break for a while."
Aokiji lowered his eye mask again and was just about to lie back down when his brows suddenly furrowed.
"This presence…"
He removed the eye mask completely, and his expression changed.
With his powerful Observation Haki, he had already sensed the danger coming from ahead. Several extremely dangerous presences had appeared in front of them.
"This is bad. Looks like someone's waiting in ambush!"
Aokiji rose to his feet at once and barked, "Pass it on—full combat alert!"
"What? Someone actually dares to intercept a Marine convoy?" Vice Admiral Yarman froze in shock. Even he found it hard to imagine who would dare challenge a force made up of one Admiral and five Vice Admirals.
As the order spread, the five warships immediately began to slow.
And just as they entered the Fred Sea, something happened ahead.
Crash—!
The previously calm sea suddenly erupted.
A crescent-shaped blue slash tore across the water, splitting the ocean in two as it raced forward. Enormous waves surged violently on both sides.
"What—? Am I seeing things right? The sea was split apart!" Yarman nearly dropped the telescope in his hand from sheer shock.
"So there really was an ambush," Aokiji muttered, his voice turning cold. "But I'm a Marine Admiral!"
The words were calm, but absolute confidence filled them.
The instant he finished speaking, his body vanished from the deck.
Moonwalk.
Stepping through the air, Aokiji moved to the front of the fleet.
"Ice Age!"
At the critical moment, he stepped in personally and froze the entire sea in an instant, turning the violent waves into solid ice.
A towering wall of ice rose like a natural barrier, and the sight of it deeply shook the Marines.
At the same time, the blue slash arrived.
Boom—!
With a thunderous explosion, the two attacks collided. A massive vortex erupted at the center of the impact, and the surrounding seawater surged in wild, chaotic currents.
Even the Marine warships were tossed about by the turbulence.
"Just what I'd expect from a Marine Admiral. Aokiji, you actually blocked my slash."
A clear, relaxed laugh sounded from ahead as a pirate ship painted in brilliant red entered everyone's view.
The Soul Society.
"So it really is you… the Shinigami Pirates."
Aokiji's expression darkened. His eyes settled on Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and his voice sank.
"There's a new crew member too? That makes this even more troublesome…"
From Hitsugaya, he could sense a familiar kind of power.
That was right—
the aura of ice.
At that moment, all traces of drowsiness vanished from Aokiji's face. He looked like a man confronting a mortal threat, because he knew exactly how dangerous these enemies were.
"Death," Aokiji said, staring at Ren Kuro, "why are you here?"
"Aokiji, why ask a question when you already know the answer?" Ren Kuro's lips curled slightly. "Did you think I came all this way just to chat with you?"
"You came for Fisher Tiger?" Aokiji's frown deepened.
"We were already planning to head to Fish-Man Island," Ren Kuro said lightly. "So I figured I might as well take him along on the way."
He said it as casually as if snatching a prisoner from a Marine Admiral were nothing more than a minor errand.
"Attacking Marine warships in broad daylight… and trying to steal a prisoner from right under my nose."
Aokiji let out a cold laugh.
"Death… you really are arrogant."
To him, this was a blatant insult.
Justice itself had been trampled on.
"Is that so?" Ren Kuro's tone stayed relaxed. "Instead of glaring at me, maybe you should worry more about your subordinates."
The moment those words fell, the four figures behind him vanished.
Shunpo.
In the blink of an eye, Byakuya and the others had each appeared on one of the warships.
"Damn it! They boarded the ships just like that? They're completely lawless!" the Marines cried out in alarm.
Even though they held an overwhelming advantage in numbers, their momentum was utterly crushed.
The mere presence of the four captains made it feel as if their souls were being crushed.
On Aokiji's own warship—
Tap.
Without warning, Hitsugaya landed firmly on the deck.
"Hey. Your opponent is me."
His tone was sharp and arrogant, completely ignoring the fact that he was speaking to a Marine Admiral.
"A kid is fighting me?" Aokiji looked a little surprised. Hitsugaya looked far too young, and yet the aura around him completely contradicted his age.
"You can feel it too, can't you?" Aokiji stepped forward, both arms becoming cloaked in cold frost. "We have the same kind of power."
"I know that already," Hitsugaya replied coldly. "Something this obvious doesn't need you pointing it out."
The faint trace of pride in his voice was impossible to miss, and his emerald eyes shone with icy resolve.
Hitsugaya matured early, and when facing an opponent of equal standing, his fierce pride made him absolutely certain he could crush them no matter the circumstances.
"To save time…"
He gripped his Zanpakutō in both hands.
"…I'll start taking this seriously."
A freezing Reiatsu howled outward like a winter storm, and the temperature in the surrounding sea dropped sharply.
Then his release command rang across the ocean.
"Reign over the frosted heavens… Hyorinmaru!"
As the cutting wind howled and ice spread through the air, the strongest ice-type Zanpakutō was finally about to reveal its most magnificent power.
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